Apparatus for position detection using multiple antennas

ABSTRACT

An apparatus includes a transmitter and a receiver device, which includes a receiver section and a processing module. The transmitter transmits a high carrier frequency signal. The receiver section includes first and second antennas that have an antenna radiation relationship for receiving the high carrier frequency signal. A receiver module of the receiver section determines first and second signal properties of the received high carrier frequency signal. The processing module determines a position of the receiver device with respect to the transmitter based on the first and second signal properties and maps the position to a coordinate system.

The present U.S. Utility patent application claims priority pursuant to35 U.S.C. §120, as a continuation, to the following U.S. Utility patentapplication which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility patent applicationfor all purposes:

-   1. U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/128,810, entitled “APPARATUS    FOR POSITION DETECTION USING MULTIPLE ANTENNAS,” (Attorney Docket    No. BP7147), filed May 29, 2008, pending, which claims priority    pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to the following U.S. Provisional    Patent Application which is hereby incorporated herein by reference    in its entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility patent    application for all purposes:    -   a. U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/936,724, entitled        “POSITION AND MOTION TRACKING OF AN OBJECT,” (Attorney Docket        No. BP6471), filed Jun. 22, 2007, expired.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to wireless systems and moreparticularly to determining position within a wireless system and/ortracking motion within the wireless system.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Communication systems are known to support wireless and wire linedcommunications between wireless and/or wire lined communication devices.Such communication systems range from national and/or internationalcellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-homewireless networks to radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. Eachtype of communication system is constructed, and hence operates, inaccordance with one or more communication standards. For instance, radiofrequency (RF) wireless communication systems may operate in accordancewith one or more standards including, but not limited to, RFID, IEEE802.11, Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS,global system for mobile communications (GSM), code division multipleaccess (CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS),multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), and/or variationsthereof. As another example, infrared (IR) communication systems mayoperate in accordance with one or more standards including, but notlimited to, IrDA (Infrared Data Association).

Depending on the type of RF wireless communication system, a wirelesscommunication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio,personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptopcomputer, home entertainment equipment, RFID reader, RFID tag, et ceteracommunicates directly or indirectly with other wireless communicationdevices. For direct communications (also known as point-to-pointcommunications), the participating wireless communication devices tunetheir receivers and transmitters to the same channel or channels (e.g.,one of the plurality of radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wirelesscommunication system) and communicate over that channel(s). For indirectwireless communications, each wireless communication device communicatesdirectly with an associated base station (e.g., for cellular services)and/or an associated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-buildingwireless network) via an assigned channel. To complete a communicationconnection between the wireless communication devices, the associatedbase stations and/or associated access points communicate with eachother directly, via a system controller, via the public switch telephonenetwork, via the Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.

For each RF wireless communication device to participate in wirelesscommunications, it includes a built-in radio transceiver (i.e., receiverand transmitter) or is coupled to an associated radio transceiver (e.g.,a station for in-home and/or in-building wireless communicationnetworks, RF modem, etc.). As is known, the receiver is coupled to theantenna and includes a low noise amplifier, one or more intermediatefrequency stages, a filtering stage, and a data recovery stage. The lownoise amplifier receives inbound RF signals via the antenna andamplifies then. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix theamplified RF signals with one or more local oscillations to convert theamplified RF signal into baseband signals or intermediate frequency (IF)signals. The filtering stage filters the baseband signals or the IFsignals to attenuate unwanted out of band signals to produce filteredsignals. The data recovery stage recovers raw data from the filteredsignals in accordance with the particular wireless communicationstandard.

As is also known, the transmitter includes a data modulation stage, oneor more intermediate frequency stages, and a power amplifier. The datamodulation stage converts raw data into baseband signals in accordancewith a particular wireless communication standard. The one or moreintermediate frequency stages mix the baseband signals with one or morelocal oscillations to produce RF signals. The power amplifier amplifiesthe RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.

In most RF applications, radio transceivers are implemented on one ormore integrated circuits (ICs), which are inter-coupled via traces on aprinted circuit board (PCB). The radio transceivers operate withinlicensed or unlicensed frequency spectrums. For example, wireless localarea network (WLAN) transceivers communicate data within the unlicensedIndustrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) frequency spectrum of 900 MHz,2.4 GHz, and 5 GHz. While the ISM frequency spectrum is unlicensed thereare restrictions on power, modulation techniques, and antenna gain.

In a particular application, millimeter wave (MMW) communications areused in public safety applications to detect a metal object on a movingperson. This can be accomplished because millimeter wave signalspenetrate clothing, plastics, and fabrics, but are reflected by metalobjects. The responses of the MMW signals are captured and processedutilizing a statistical model to detect the metal object.

In radar applications, RF signals are used to detect the relativedistance of an object. In general, when the receiver and transmitter arein the same location, the received power declines as the fourth power ofthe range, which can be use to determine the distance to an object. Thetransmission of the RF signals may be polarized to reduce interferencesand/or to better detect certain objects. For instance, circularpolarization is used to minimize the interference caused by rain; linearpolarization for better detection of metal surfaces; and randompolarization for better detecting fractal surfaces. Alternatively, theradar signals may be FM modulated to improve distance detect.

In IR communication systems, an IR device includes a transmitter, alight emitting diode, a receiver, and a silicon photo diode. Inoperation, the transmitter modulates a signal, which drives the LED toemit infrared radiation which is focused by a lens into a narrow beam.The receiver, via the silicon photo diode, receives the narrow beaminfrared radiation and converts it into an electric signal.

IR communications are used in video games to detect the direction inwhich a game controller is pointed. As an example, an IR sensor isplaced near the game display, where the IR sensor detects the IR signaltransmitted by the game controller. If the game controller is too faraway, too close, or angled away from the IR sensor, the IR communicationwill fail.

Further advances in video gaming include three accelerometers in thegame controller to detect motion by way of acceleration. The motion datais transmitted to the game console via a Bluetooth wireless link. TheBluetooth wireless link may also transmit the IR direction data to thegame console and/or convey other data between the game controller andthe game console.

While the above video gaming technologies allow video gaming to includemotion sensing, it does so with limitations. As mentioned, the IRcommunication has a limited area in which a player can be for the IRcommunication to work properly. Further, the accelerometer only measuresacceleration such that true one-to-one detection of motion is notachieved. Thus, the gaming motion is limited to a handful of directions(e.g., horizontal, vertical, and a few diagonal directions).

Therefore, a need exists for improved motion tracking and positioningdetermination for video gaming and other applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus fordetermining position in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of receiving a HCF signal fordetermining position in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example of a path loss model in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of another example of receiving an HCF signal inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of determining position in accordancewith the present invention;

FIGS. 6-8 are diagrams of another example of determining position inaccordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrams of examples of updating distances inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of anapparatus for determining position in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of anapparatus for determining position in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a video gamesystem in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 14-16 are diagrams of an embodiment of a coordinate system of agaming system in accordance with the present invention; and

FIGS. 17-19 are diagrams of another embodiment of a coordinate system ofa gaming system in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of an apparatusthat includes a transmitter 12 and a receiver device 14. The receiverdevice 14 includes a processing module 16 and a receiver section 18,which includes a receiver module 25 and a plurality of antennas 30(e.g., two or more). The apparatus is located within a physical area 18that is a confined area such as a room, an office, etc. or an unconfinedarea such as a section of an airport, mall, outdoors, etc. Also locatedwithin the physical area 18 may be a plurality of inanimate objects(e.g., desk 22, couch 24, chair 26, walls, floor, ceiling, trees, etc.)and one or more animate objects 20 (e.g., a person, a dog, a cat, etc.).Typically, the receiver device 14 will be associated with an animateobject 20.

The transmitter 12 transmits a high carrier frequency (HCF) signal 28.The HFC signal 28 may be a sinusoidal signal, a pulse signal, abeamformed signal, and/or a frequency modulated signal that has acarrier frequency in the radio frequency (RF) band (30 Hz to 3 GHz)and/or the microwave frequency band (3 GHz to 300 GHz). The transmitter12 may continually transmit the HCF signal 28, may periodically transmitthe HCF signal 28 (e.g., 10-50 milli-second intervals), or may randomlytransmit the HCF signal 28.

To generate a sinusoidal signal, the transmitter 12 includes a signalgenerator, one or more power amplifiers, and one or more antennas. Thesignal generator generates a sinusoidal signal [e.g., A₀ cos(ω_(RF)(t)),where RF corresponds to the desired carrier frequency]. The one or morepower amplifiers amplify the sinusoidal signal to produce one or moreamplified signals, which are transmitted as the HCF signal 28 via theone or more antennas.

To generate a beamformed HCF signal (which may be focused to target aparticular region of the physical area in three dimensions), thetransmitter section 12 includes a plurality of antennas that transmit ahigh carrier frequency (HCF) signal in accordance with particularbeamforming coefficients and/or phase offsets. The combination of theplurality of HCF signals in air produces the HCF beamformed signal 28for this particular region in three-dimensional space. For example, asignal generator generates a signal [e.g., A₀ cos(ω_(RF)(t)), where RFcorresponds to the desired carrier frequency]. The signal is routed to aplurality of phase offset modules that introduce a different phaseoffset (e.g., φ_(n)) to produce a plurality of high carrier frequencysignals [e.g., A₀ cos(ω_(RF)(t)+φ₀); A₀ cos(ω_(RF)(t)+φ₁); . . . ; A₀cos(ω_(RF)(t)+φ_(n))]. The plurality of high carrier frequency signalsare amplified via power amplifiers and transmitted via a plurality ofantennas. The signals combine in air to produce the high carrierfrequency signal 28.

To generate a frequency modulated signal, the transmitter 12 includes asignal generator, a frequency modulator, one or more power amplifiers,and one or more antennas. The signal generator generates a sinusoidalsignal [e.g., A₀ cos(ω_(RF)(t)), where RF corresponds to the desiredcarrier frequency]. The frequency modulator modulates the signal toproduce a frequency modulated (FM) signal [e.g., A₀cos(ω_(RF)(t)+ω₁(t))]. The one or more power amplifiers amplify the FMsignal to produce one or more amplified signals, which are transmittedas the HCF signal 28 via the one or more antennas.

To generate a pulse signal, the transmitter 12 includes a pulsegenerator, one or more power amplifiers, and one or more antennas. Thepulse generator generates a pulse signal having a particular (orvarying) pulse width and/or a particular (or varying) pulse repetitiontimes. The one or more power amplifiers amplify the pulse signal toproduce one or more amplified signals, which are transmitted as the HCFsignal 28 via the one or more antennas.

The antennas 30 of the receiver section 18 receive the high carrierfrequency (HCF) signal 28 to produce first and second received highcarrier frequency signals. The antennas 30 (in this example: twoantennas) have an antenna radiation relationship such that the antennas30 receive the HFC signal 28 differently. The antenna radiationrelationship may be a spatial diversity relationship (e.g., the antennasare physically spaced by a known distance in three-dimensions), apolarization relationship (e.g., orthogonal polarization, circularpolarization, random polarization, etc.), and/or a structuralrelationship (e.g., the antennas are of different types such as helical,mono-pole, di-pole, etc.).

The receiver module 25 determines first signal properties of the firstreceived high carrier frequency signal and second signal properties ofthe second received high carrier frequency signal. The first and secondsignal properties include one or more of received signal strength,frequency shift, phase shift, and/or antenna properties (e.g.,polarization, physical position, type, etc.).

In an embodiment, the receiver module 25 may be a separate device fromthe processing module 16 or may be the same device. The receiver module25 and/or the processing module 16 may be a single processing device ora plurality of processing devices. Such a processing device may be amicroprocessor, micro-controller, digital signal processor,microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmable gate array,programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuitry, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device that manipulates signals(analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of the circuitry and/oroperational instructions. The receiver module 25 and/or the processingmodule 16 may have an associated memory and/or memory element, which maybe a single memory device, a plurality of memory devices, and/orembedded circuitry of the processing module. Such a memory device may bea read-only memory, random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatilememory, static memory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory,and/or any device that stores digital information. Note that when thereceiver module 25 and/or the processing module 16 implements one ormore of its functions via a state machine, analog circuitry, digitalcircuitry, and/or logic circuitry, the memory and/or memory elementstoring the corresponding operational instructions may be embeddedwithin, or external to, the circuitry comprising the state machine,analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry. Furthernote that, the memory element stores, and the receiver module 25 and/orthe processing module 16 executes, hard coded and/or operationalinstructions corresponding to at least some of the steps and/orfunctions illustrated in FIGS. 1-19.

The processing module determines a position of the receiver device 14with respect to the transmitter 12 based on the first and second signalproperties. For example, the processing module 16 may determine thedistance between the transmitter 12 and the receiver device 14 based onthe known transmit power levels of the HCF signal 28 and the receivedpower levels of the HCF signal 28. Since the signal 28 travel at thespeed of light and the received power declines according to a path lossmodel (e.g., ITU indoor path loss mode), the distance between thereceiver device 14 and the transmitter can be readily calculated. Inaddition, the processing module 16 determines a beam angle between thetransmitter 12 and the receiver device 14 based on the first and secondsignal properties. From the distance and the beamform angle, theposition of the receiver device 14 with respect to the transmitter 12can be determined. The position of the receiver device 14 is then mappedto a coordinate system for the physical area 18. Examples of coordinatesystems will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 14-19.

In another embodiment, the receiver section includes four antennas 30that have an antenna radiation relationship. Each of the antennas 30receives the high carrier frequency signal 28 to produce a received highcarrier frequency signal. The receiver module 25 determines firstthrough fourth signal properties of the first through fourth receivedhigh carrier frequency signals. The processing module 16 determines theposition of the receiver device 14 with respect to the transmitter 12based on the first through fourth signal properties.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of receiving a HCF signal 28 fordetermining position of the receiver device 14 with respect to thetransmitter 12. In this example, the transmitter 12 transmits the HCFsignal 28 as a sinusoidal signal [e.g., A₀ cos (ω_(HCF0)(t)), where A₀is the amplitude and HCF0 is the carrier frequency]. Each of theantennas 30 receives the signal 28 in accordance with the antennaradiation relationship to produce a first received HCF signal 29 [e.g.,A₁ cos(ω_(HCF0)(t)), where A₁ is the amplitude of the received signaland HCF0 is the carrier frequency] and a second received HCF signal 31[e.g., A₂ sin(ω_(HCF0)(t)), where A₂ is the amplitude of the receivedsignal and HCF0 is the carrier frequency]. In this example, the antennaradiation relationship is an orthogonal polarization.

The receiver module 25 determines the properties of the received HCFsignals 29 and 31 by determining the representative received HFC signal33. In this example, the representation signal 33 is a combination ofthe first and second received signals 29 and 31, which may be expressedas A′₀ cos(ω_(HCF0)(t)+θ₀(t)+Φ₀(t)), where A′₀=√(A₁ ²+A₂ ²), θ₀(t) isthe beam angle [e.g., tan⁻¹(A₁/A₂)], and Φ₀(t) is the phase rotation. Inthis example, the properties are first and second amplitudes A₁ and A₂,the orthogonal relationship between the antennas, the resultingamplitude A′₀, the beam angle θ₀(t), and/or the phase rotation Φ₀(t).

The processing module 16 utilizes the properties of the received HFCsignals 29 and 31 and the representative signal 33 to determine thedistance between the first antenna and the transmitter 12 and thedistance between the second antenna and the transmitter 12. Theprocessing module 16 interprets the beam angle (i.e., the angle betweenthe antennas 30 and the transmitter 12) with respect to the signal typeof the HCF signal 28 (e.g., pulse, sinusoidal, beamformed, etc.). Theprocessing module 16 then determines the position of the receiver device14 based on the beam angle and the first and second distances.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example of a path loss model (e.g., ITU indoorpath loss model, another model, or calculated by placing the receiverdevice at specific positions with respect to the transmitter, etc.) fora give carrier frequency of an HCF signal 28. For higher carrierfrequencies, the power decreases more rapidly with distance and, forlower carrier frequencies, the power decreases less rapidly withdistance. As such, by knowing the transmit power level and the receivepower level for a given path loss model, the distance between thereceiver device 14 and the transmitter 12 can be determined.

As a specific example, the transmit power is expressed as TX and thereceive power for the representative signal 33 is expressed as A′₀.Based on the intersection of A′₀ with the curve provides an approximateddistance d0. Note that the distance to each antenna may be determinedbased on its respective power level and A′₀ and d0 may be derivedtherefrom.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example of the distances between the receiverdevice 14 and the transmitter 12 for use in determining position of thereceiver device. This example utilizes the path loss curve of FIG. 3 todetermine d₀, the distance (d₁) between the first antenna and thetransmitter 12, and the distance (d₂) between the second antenna and thetransmitter 12. In addition, the distance (d_(ANT)) between the antennasknown.

From these distances and the beam angle (θ₀), beam angles (θ₁ and θ₂)can be determined for each antenna. With three known distances and beamangles, and if the HCF signal 28 is a beamformed signal, or thetransmitter includes quadrant directional antennas, the position of thereceiver device 14 with respect to the transmitter can be determined. Ifthe transmitter 12 uses one or more omni-directional antennas, then thetransmitter 12 includes at least three transmitter devices to transmitat least three HCF signals such that at least threes sets of distancesand beam angles are obtained. With the at least three sets of distancesand beam angles, the position of the receiver device 14 with respect tothe transmitter devices can be determined.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of determining position in a Cartesiancoordinate system. In this example, the transmitter 12 (TX) ispositioned at the origin of the coordinate system, but could be at anypoint in the coordinate system. In this example, the receiver device 14(RX) is in the positive x-y-z section at point (x₀, y₀, z₀), which isdetermined by the distance d₀ and the beam angle θ₀. Note that thedistance d₀ and the beam angle θ₀ are three dimensional as illustratedwith reference to FIGS. 6-8.

FIGS. 6-8 are Z-Y, X-Y, and X-Z diagrams of the example of determiningposition of the receiver device 14. In these Figures, the antennas (1and 2) have a particular orientation in z-y space as shown. The commonpoint of antennas (1 and 2) provides the reference point for which therepresentative signal 33 is received and from which the representativedistance d₀ and representative beam angle θ₀ are calculated. As such,representative distance d₀ is a function of d₀(z,y), d₀(x,y), andd₀(x,z), which in turn are functions of d₁(z,y) & d₂(z,y), d₁(x,y) &d₂(x,y), and d₁(x,z) & d₂(x,z), respectively. Similarly, therepresentative beam angle θ₀ is a function of θ₀(z,y), θ₀(x,y), andθ₀(x,z), which in turn are functions of d₁(z,y) & d₂(z,y), d₁(x,y) &d₂(x,y), and d₁(x,z) & d₂(x,z), respectively.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrams of examples of updating distances based onthe phase rotations. In FIG. 9, the signal received by the first antennais shown with respect to when it was transmitted until it was received.As previously discussed, the distance between the transmitter 12 and thefirst antenna can be derived from the path loss curve of FIG. 3.Utilizing this information, the number of cycles of the signal thatoccurred between transmission and reception can be determined asdistance divided by wavelength (d₁/λ). In most instances, this valuewill include an integer portion and a fraction portion.

The phase rotation (Φ₁) may be determined by comparing the properties ofthe received signal with the known properties of the transmitted signal.For example, if the transmitted signal is a sinusoidal signal, then thephase rotation may be determined based on the magnitude of the signaland the number of cycles. From the number of cycles and the phaserotation, the distance between the first antenna and the transmitter maybe updated as the number of cycles+phase rotation/360 degrees) times thewavelength [e.g., d₁=(# of cycles+Φ₁/360)*λ].

In FIG. 10, the signal received by the second antenna is shown withrespect to when it was transmitted until it was received. As previouslydiscussed, the distance between the transmitter 12 and the secondantenna can be derived from the path loss curve of FIG. 3. Utilizingthis information, the number of cycles of the signal that occurredbetween transmission and reception can be determined as distance dividedby wavelength (d₁/λ). In most instances, this value will include aninteger portion and a fraction portion.

The phase rotation (Φ₂) may be determined by comparing the properties ofthe received signal with the known properties of the transmitted signal.For example, if the transmitted signal is a sinusoidal signal, then thephase rotation may be determined based on the magnitude of the signaland the number of cycles. From the number of cycles and the phaserotation, the distance between the second antenna and the transmittermay be updated as the number of cycles+phase rotation/360 degrees) timesthe wavelength [e.g., d₂=(# of cycles+Φ₂/360)*λ].

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of anapparatus for determining position that includes the transmitter 12 andthe receiver device 14. The receiver device 14 includes a processingmodule 16 and a receiver section 18, which includes a receiver module 25and a plurality of antennas 30 (e.g., four or more). The apparatus islocated within a physical area 18 that is a confined area such as aroom, an office, etc. or an unconfined area such as a section of anairport, mall, outdoors, etc. Also located within the physical area 18may be a plurality of inanimate objects (e.g., desk 22, couch 24, chair26, walls, floor, ceiling, trees, etc.) and one or more animate objects20 (e.g., a person, a dog, a cat, etc.). Typically, the receiver device14 will be associated with an animate object 20.

The transmitter 12 transmits a first high carrier frequency (HCF) signal28 and a second HCF signal 42. Each of the HFC signals 28 and 42 may bea sinusoidal signal, a pulse signal, a beamformed signal, and/or afrequency modulated signal that has a carrier frequency in the radiofrequency (RF) band (30 Hz to 3 GHz) and/or the microwave frequency band(3 GHz to 300 GHz). The transmitter 12 may continually transmit the HCFsignals 28 and 42, may periodically transmit the HCF signals 28 and 42(e.g., 10-50 milli-second intervals), may randomly transmit the HCFsignals 28 and 42, or may alternate transmitting the first and secondHCF signals 28 and 42. Regardless of the manner in which the HCF signalsare transmitted, the second high carrier frequency signal 42 has adifferent carrier frequency than the first high carrier frequency signal28. For example, the first HCF signal 28 may have a carrier frequency of56 GHz and the second HCF signal 42 may have a carrier frequency of 64GHz.

The antennas 30 and 40 of the receiver section 18 receive the highcarrier frequency (HCF) signal 28 and the second HCF signal 42,respectively, to produce first and second received high carrierfrequency signals and third and fourth received high carrier frequencysignals, respectively. The antennas 30 (in this example: two antennas)have an antenna radiation relationship such that the antennas 30 receivethe HFC signal 28 differently and the antennas 40 have a second antennaradiation relationship such that the antennas 40 receive the HFC signal42 differently. The antenna radiation relationship may be a spatialdiversity relationship (e.g., the antennas are physically spaced by aknown distance in three-dimensions), a polarization relationship (e.g.,orthogonal polarization, circular polarization, random polarization,etc.), and/or a structural relationship (e.g., the antennas are ofdifferent types such as helical, mono-pole, di-pole, etc.).

The receiver module 25 determines first signal properties of the firstreceived high carrier frequency signal, second signal properties of thesecond received high carrier frequency signal, third signal propertiesof the third received high carrier frequency signal, and fourth signalproperties of the fourth received high carrier frequency signal. Thefirst through fourth signal properties include one or more of receivedsignal strength, frequency shift, phase shift, and/or antenna properties(e.g., polarization, physical position, type, etc.).

The processing module determines a position of the receiver device 14with respect to the transmitter 12 based on the first through fourthsignal properties. For example, the processing module 16 may determinethe distance between the transmitter 12 and the receiver device 14 basedon the known transmit power levels of the HCF signal 28 and the receivedpower levels of the HCF signals 28 and 42. Since the signals 28 and 42travel at the speed of light and the received power declines accordingto a path loss model (e.g., ITU indoor path loss mode), the distancebetween the receiver device 14 and the transmitter can be readilycalculated. In addition, the processing module 16 determines a beamangle between the transmitter 12 and the receiver device 14 based on thefirst through fourth signal properties. From the distance and thebeamform angle, the position of the receiver device 14 with respect tothe transmitter 12 can be determined. The position of the receiverdevice 14 is then mapped to a coordinate system for the physical area18. Examples of coordinate systems will be discussed with reference toFIGS. 14-19.

In another embodiment, the receiver section includes four antennas 30that have an antenna radiation relationship and fourth antennas 40 thathave the second antenna radiation relationship. Each of the antennas 30receives the high carrier frequency signal 28 to produce a received highcarrier frequency signal and each of the antennas 40 receives the secondHCF signal 42. The receiver module 25 determines first through eighthsignal properties of the first through eighth received high carrierfrequency signals. The processing module 16 determines the position ofthe receiver device 14 with respect to the transmitter 12 based on thefirst through fourth signal properties.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of anapparatus that includes a plurality of transmitters 12, 50, 52, and areceiver device 14. The plurality of transmitters transmits, inaccordance with a multiplexing protocol, a first high carrier frequencysignal 28, 54, 56 and a second high carrier frequency signal 42, 55, 57,wherein the first high carrier frequency signal has a different carrierfrequency than the second high carrier frequency signal. Each of thefirst and second HFC signals may be a sinusoidal signal, a pulse signal,a beamformed signal, and/or a frequency modulated signal that has acarrier frequency in the radio frequency (RF) band (30 Hz to 3 GHz)and/or the microwave frequency band (3 GHz to 300 GHz). The transmitters12, 50, 52 may continually transmit the first and second HCF signals,may periodically transmit the HCF signals (e.g., 10-50 milli-secondintervals), may randomly transmit the HCF signals, or may alternatetransmitting the first and second HCF signals. Regardless of the mannerin which the HCF signals are transmitted, the second high carrierfrequency signal has a different carrier frequency than the first highcarrier frequency signal. For example, the first HCF signal may have acarrier frequency of 56 GHz and the second HCF signal may have a carrierfrequency of 64 GHz.

A first antenna of the antennas 30 receives the first high carrierfrequency (HCF) signals 28, 54, 56 and the second antenna receives thesecond HCF signals 42, 55, 57 to produce a plurality of first receivedhigh carrier frequency signals and a plurality of second received highcarrier frequency signals. The antennas 30 (in this example: twoantennas) have an antenna radiation relationship such that the antennas30 receive each of the first HFC signals differently. The antennaradiation relationship may be a spatial diversity relationship (e.g.,the antennas are physically spaced by a known distance inthree-dimensions), a polarization relationship (e.g., orthogonalpolarization, circular polarization, random polarization, etc.), and/ora structural relationship (e.g., the antennas are of different typessuch as helical, mono-pole, di-pole, etc.).

The receiver module 25 determines first signal properties of the firstreceived high carrier frequency signals and second signal properties ofthe second received high carrier frequency signals. The first and secondsignal properties include one or more of received signal strength,frequency shift, phase shift, and/or antenna properties (e.g.,polarization, physical position, type, etc.).

The processing module determines a position of the receiver device 14with respect to the transmitters 12, 50, 52 based on the first andsecond signal properties. For example, the processing module 16 maydetermine the distance between the transmitters 12, 50, 52 and thereceiver device 14 based on the known transmit power levels of theplurality of first and second HCF signals and the received power levelsof the plurality of first and second HCF signals. Since the signalstravel at the speed of light and the received power declines accordingto a path loss model (e.g., ITU indoor path loss mode), the distancebetween the receiver device 14 and each of the transmitters can bereadily calculated. In addition, the processing module 16 determines abeam angle between each of the transmitters 12 and the receiver device14 based on the first and second signal properties. From the distancesand the beamform angles, the position of the receiver device 14 withrespect to the transmitters can be determined. The position of thereceiver device 14 is then mapped to a coordinate system for thephysical area 18. Examples of coordinate systems will be discussed withreference to FIGS. 14-19.

In another embodiment, each of the plurality of transmitters transmits,in accordance with the multiplexing protocol, a plurality of highcarrier frequency signals, wherein each of the plurality of high carrierfrequency signal has a different carrier frequency. The receiver sectionincludes a plurality of antennas, where each of the plurality ofantennas receives a corresponding one of the plurality of high carrierfrequency signals from each of the plurality of transmitters to producea plurality of corresponding received high carrier frequency signals.

The receiver module determines corresponding signal properties for eachof the plurality of corresponding received high carrier frequencysignals to produce a plurality of corresponding signal properties. Theprocessing module determines the plurality of distances between thereceiver device and the plurality of transmitters based on the pluralityof corresponding signal properties.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a video gamesystem 75 that includes a game console device 64 and a gaming object 60.The video game playing object 60 includes antennas 62 and a video gamecontroller functionality. The first antenna of the antennas 63 receivesa high carrier frequency signal to produce a first received high carrierfrequency signal and the second antenna of the antennas 62 receives thehigh carrier frequency signal to produce a second received high carrierfrequency signal. The first and second antennas have an antennaradiation relationship, which may be a spatial diversity relationship(e.g., the antennas are physically spaced by a known distance inthree-dimensions), a polarization relationship (e.g., orthogonalpolarization, circular polarization, random polarization, etc.), and/ora structural relationship (e.g., the antennas are of different typessuch as helical, mono-pole, di-pole, etc.).

The HCF signal 66 may be a sinusoidal signal, a pulse signal, abeamformed signal, and/or a frequency modulated signal that has acarrier frequency in the radio frequency (RF) band (30 Hz to 3 GHz)and/or the microwave frequency band (3 GHz to 300 GHz). The HCF signal66 may be continually transmitted, periodically transmitted (e.g., 10-50milli-second intervals), or randomly transmitted.

The video game playing object 62 further includes a receiver module thatdetermines first signal properties of the first received high carrierfrequency signal and second signal properties of the second receivedhigh carrier frequency signal. The signal properties include one or moreof received signal strength, frequency shift, phase shift, and/orantenna properties (e.g., polarization, physical position, type, etc.).

The video game console device 64 also determines a position of the videogame playing object 60 with respect to a source (e.g., the video gameconsole device 64 and/or a transmitter 12) of the high carrier frequencysignal based on the first and second signal properties. The video gameconsole device 64 further functions to map the position 68 to acoordinate system and to track motion 70 of the gaming object 60 withinthe gaming environment 72.

In an embodiment, the video game console device receives the signalsproperties from the gaming object 60 and determines its position bydetermining a first distance between the first antenna and the source;determining a second distance between the second antenna and the source;determining a beam angle of the high carrier frequency signal withrespect to the first and second antennas; and determining the positionof the video game playing object 60 based on the beam angle and thefirst and second distances, wherein the first and second signalproperties includes the beam angle. Alternatively, the video gameplaying object 60 could determine the distances and provide them to thevideo game console 64.

In various embodiments, video gaming system 75 may incorporate thevarious embodiments of the receiver device and the transmitter(s) ofFIGS. 1-12 within the video game playing object 60 and/or the video gameconsole 64. For example, the video game playing object may include fourantennas 62 that have an antenna radiation relationship. Each of theantennas 62 receives the high carrier frequency signal 66 to produce areceived high carrier frequency signal. As another example, the videogame playing object may include a first antenna operable to receive aplurality of first high carrier frequency signals from a plurality oftransmitters to produce a first plurality of received high carrierfrequency signals and a second antenna operable to receive a pluralityof the second high carrier frequency signals from a plurality oftransmitters to produce a second plurality of received high carrierfrequency signals.

FIGS. 14-16 are diagrams of an embodiment of a three-dimensionalCartesian coordinate system of a localized physical area that may beused for the physical area 18. In these figures an x-y-z origin isselected to be somewhere in the localized physical area and the positionand motion of the player (e.g., an animate entity) and/or the gamingobject is determined with respect to the origin (e.g., 0, 0, 0). Forexample, a point (e.g., x1, y1, z1) on the player is used to identifyits position in the physical area and a point (e.g., x2, y2, z2) on thegaming object is used to identify its position in the physical area. Asthe player and/or gaming object move, its new position is identifiedwithin the physical area and the relation between the old point and thenew point is used to determine three-dimensional motion.

FIGS. 17-19 are diagrams of an embodiment of a spherical coordinatesystem of a physical area. In these figures an origin is selected to besomewhere in the physical area and the position and motion of the playerand/or the gaming object is determined with respect to the origin. Forexample, the position of the player may be represented as vector, orspherical coordinates, (ρ, φ, θ), where ρ≧0 and is the distance from theorigin to a given point P; 0≦φ≦180° and is the angle between thepositive z-axis and the line formed between the origin and P; and0≦θ≦360° and is the angle between the positive x-axis and the line fromthe origin to P projected onto the xy-plane. In general, φ is referredto as the zenith, colatitude or polar angle, θ is referred to as theazimuth. φ and θ lose significance when ρ=0 and θ loses significancewhen sin(φ)=0 (at φ=0 and φ=180°). A point is plotted from its sphericalcoordinates, by going ρ units from the origin along the positive z-axis,rotate φ about the y-axis in the direction of the positive x-axis androtate θ about the z-axis in the direction of the positive y-axis.

As may be used herein, the terms “substantially” and “approximately”provides an industry-accepted tolerance for its corresponding termand/or relativity between items. Such an industry-accepted toleranceranges from less than one percent to fifty percent and corresponds to,but is not limited to, component values, integrated circuit processvariations, temperature variations, rise and fall times, and/or thermalnoise. Such relativity between items ranges from a difference of a fewpercent to magnitude differences. As may also be used herein, theterm(s) “coupled to” and/or “coupling” and/or includes direct couplingbetween items and/or indirect coupling between items via an interveningitem (e.g., an item includes, but is not limited to, a component, anelement, a circuit, and/or a module) where, for indirect coupling, theintervening item does not modify the information of a signal but mayadjust its current level, voltage level, and/or power level. As mayfurther be used herein, inferred coupling (i.e., where one element iscoupled to another element by inference) includes direct and indirectcoupling between two items in the same manner as “coupled to”. As mayeven further be used herein, the term “operable to” indicates that anitem includes one or more of power connections, input(s), output(s),etc., to perform one or more its corresponding functions and may furtherinclude inferred coupling to one or more other items. As may stillfurther be used herein, the term “associated with”, includes directand/or indirect coupling of separate items and/or one item beingembedded within another item. As may be used herein, the term “comparesfavorably”, indicates that a comparison between two or more items,signals, etc., provides a desired relationship. For example, when thedesired relationship is that signal 1 has a greater magnitude thansignal 2, a favorable comparison may be achieved when the magnitude ofsignal 1 is greater than that of signal 2 or when the magnitude ofsignal 2 is less than that of signal 1.

The present invention has also been described above with the aid ofmethod steps illustrating the performance of specified functions andrelationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functionalbuilding blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined hereinfor convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences canbe defined so long as the specified functions and relationships areappropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences arethus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.

The present invention has been described above with the aid offunctional building blocks illustrating the performance of certainsignificant functions. The boundaries of these functional buildingblocks have been arbitrarily defined for convenience of description.Alternate boundaries could be defined as long as the certain significantfunctions are appropriately performed. Similarly, flow diagram blocksmay also have been arbitrarily defined herein to illustrate certainsignificant functionality. To the extent used, the flow diagram blockboundaries and sequence could have been defined otherwise and stillperform the certain significant functionality. Such alternatedefinitions of both functional building blocks and flow diagram blocksand sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimedinvention. One of average skill in the art will also recognize that thefunctional building blocks, and other illustrative blocks, modules andcomponents herein, can be implemented as illustrated or by discretecomponents, application specific integrated circuits, processorsexecuting appropriate software and the like or any combination thereof.

1. An apparatus comprises: a receiver device that includes: a receiversection that includes: a first antenna operable to receive a highcarrier frequency signal to produce a first received high carrierfrequency signal; a second antenna operable to receive the high carrierfrequency signal to produce a second received high carrier frequencysignal, wherein the first and the second antennas have an antennaradiation relationship; a receiver module coupled to: determine firstsignal properties of the first received high carrier frequency signal;and determine second signal properties of the second received highcarrier frequency signal; and a processing module coupled to: determinea position of the receiver device with respect to a source of the highcarrier frequency signal based on the first and the second signalproperties; and map the position to a coordinate system.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the determining the position comprises:determine a first distance between the first antenna and the source ofthe high carrier frequency signal; determine a second distance betweenthe second antenna and the source of the high carrier frequency signal;determine a beam angle of the high carrier frequency signal with respectto the first and second antennas; determine the position of the receiverdevice based on the beam angle and the first and second distances,wherein the first and second signal properties includes the beam angle.3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprises: determining the firstdistance by: determining a first receive power of the high carrierfrequency signal received via the first antenna; determining a firstpath loss between the first antenna and the source of the source of thehigh carrier frequency signal based on the first receive power and atransmit power; and determining the first distance based on the firstpath loss, wherein the first signal properties includes the firstreceive power and the first path loss; and determining the seconddistance by: determining a second receive power of the high carrierfrequency signal received via the second antenna; determining a secondpath loss between the second antenna and the source of the high carrierfrequency signal based on the second receive power and the power of thehigh carrier frequency signal; and determining the second distance basedon the second path loss, wherein the second signal properties includesthe second receive power and the second path loss.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 3 further comprises: determining the first distance by:determining a first phase rotation of the high carrier frequency signalreceived via the first antenna; determining a first number of cycles ofthe high carrier frequency signal received via the first antenna basedon the first distance; adjust the first distance based on the firstnumber of cycles and the first phase rotation; determining the seconddistance by: determining a second phase rotation of the high carrierfrequency signal received via the second antenna; determining a secondnumber of cycles of the high carrier frequency signal received via thesecond antenna based on the second distance; adjust the second distancebased on the second number of cycles and the second phase rotation. 5.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the antenna radiation relationshipcomprises at least one of: a spatial diversity relationship, apolarization relationship; and a structural relationship.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1 further comprises: the receiver section furtherincludes: a third antenna operable to receive the second high carrierfrequency signal to produce a third received high carrier frequencysignal; a fourth antenna operable to receive the second high carrierfrequency signal to produce a fourth received high carrier frequencysignal, wherein the third and fourth antennas have a second antennaradiation relationship; the receiver module is further coupled to:determine third signal properties of the third received high carrierfrequency signal; and determine fourth signal properties of the fourthreceived high carrier frequency signal; and the processing module isfurther coupled to determine the position of the receiver device withrespect to the source of the high carrier frequency signal based on thefirst, second, third, and fourth signal properties.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 6 further comprises: the receiver section further includes: afifth antenna operable to receive the high carrier frequency signal toproduce a fifth received high carrier frequency signal; a sixth antennaoperable to receive the high carrier frequency signal to produce a sixthreceived high carrier frequency signal, wherein the first, second,fifth, and sixth antennas have the antenna radiation relationship; aseventh antenna operable to receive the second high carrier frequencysignal to produce a seventh received high carrier frequency signal; aneighth antenna operable to receive the second high carrier frequencysignal to produce an eighth received high carrier frequency signal,wherein the third, fourth, seventh, and eighth antennas have the secondantenna radiation relationship; the receiver module is further coupledto: determine fifth signal properties of the fifth received high carrierfrequency signal; determine sixth signal properties of the sixthreceived high carrier frequency signal; determine seventh signalproperties of the seventh received high carrier frequency signal;determine eighth signal properties of the eighth received high carrierfrequency signal; and the processing module is further coupled todetermine the position of the receiver device with respect to the sourceof the high carrier frequency signal based on the first through eighthsignal properties.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprises: thereceiver section further includes: a third antenna operable to receivethe high carrier frequency signal to produce a third received highcarrier frequency signal; a fourth antenna operable to receive the highcarrier frequency signal to produce a fourth received high carrierfrequency signal, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth antennashave the antenna radiation relationship; the receiver module is furthercoupled to: determine third signal properties of the third received highcarrier frequency signal; determine fourth signal properties of thefourth received high carrier frequency signal; and the processing moduleis further coupled to determine the position of the receiver device withrespect to the source of the high carrier frequency signal based on thefirst through fourth signal properties.
 9. An apparatus comprises: aplurality of transmitters, wherein each of the plurality of transmitterstransmits a first high carrier frequency signal and a second highcarrier frequency signal; a receiver device that includes: a receiversection that includes: a first antenna operable to receive a pluralityof first high carrier frequency signals to produce a first plurality ofreceived high carrier frequency signals; a second antenna operable toreceive a plurality of second high carrier frequency signals to producea second plurality of received high carrier frequency signals; areceiver module coupled to: determine a first plurality of signalproperties of the first plurality of received high carrier frequencysignals; and determine a second plurality of signal properties of thesecond plurality of received high carrier frequency signals; and aprocessing module coupled to: determine a plurality of distances betweenthe receiver device and the plurality of transmitters based on the firstand second plurality of signal properties, wherein a distance of theplurality of distances is between the receiver device and one of theplurality of transmitters and is determined based on a corresponding oneof the first plurality of signal properties and a corresponding one ofthe second plurality of signal properties; determine a position of thereceiver device with respect to a source of the plurality of first highcarrier frequency signals and the plurality of the second high carrierfrequency signals based on the first and the second plurality of signalproperties; and map the position to a coordinate system.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein the determining the distance between thereceiver device and the one of the plurality of transmitters comprises:determining a first receive power of a corresponding one of theplurality of the first high carrier frequency signals received via thefirst antenna; determining a first path loss between the first antennaand the corresponding one of the plurality of transmitters based on thefirst receive power and a first transmit power; determining a secondreceive power of a corresponding one of the plurality of the second highcarrier frequency signals received via the second antenna; determining asecond path loss between the second antenna and the corresponding one ofthe plurality of transmitters based on the second receive power and asecond transmit power; and determining the distance based on the firstand second path losses.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprises:the receiver section includes a plurality of antennas, wherein theplurality of antennas includes the first and second antennas, whereineach of the plurality of antennas receives a corresponding one of theplurality of high carrier frequency signals from each of the pluralityof transmitters to produce a plurality of corresponding received highcarrier frequency signals; the receiver module determines correspondingsignal properties for each of the plurality of corresponding receivedhigh carrier frequency signals to produce a plurality of correspondingsignal properties; and the processing module determine the plurality ofdistances between the receiver device and the plurality of transmittersbased on the plurality of corresponding signal properties.
 12. A videogame system comprises: a video game playing object that includes: afirst antenna operable to receive a high carrier frequency signal toproduce a first received high carrier frequency signal; a second antennaoperable to receive the high carrier frequency signal to produce asecond received high carrier frequency signal, wherein the first andsecond antennas have an antenna radiation relationship; a receivermodule coupled to: determine first signal properties of the firstreceived high carrier frequency signal; and determine second signalproperties of the second received high carrier frequency signal; and avideo game console device coupled to: determine a position of the videogame playing object with respect to a source of the high carrierfrequency signal based on the first and second signal properties; andmap the position to a coordinate system.
 13. The video game system ofclaim 12, wherein the determining the position comprises: determine afirst distance between the first antenna and the source; determine asecond distance between the second antenna and the source; determine abeam angle of the high carrier frequency signal with respect to thefirst and second antennas; determine the position of the video gameplaying object based on the beam angle and the first and seconddistances, wherein the first and second signal properties includes thebeam angle.
 14. The video game system of claim 13 further comprises:determining the first distance by: determining a first receive power ofthe high carrier frequency signal received via the first antenna;determining a first path loss between the first antenna and the sourcebased on the first receive power and a transmit power; and determiningthe first distance based on the first path loss, wherein the firstsignal properties includes the first receive power and the first pathloss; and determining the second distance by: determining a secondreceive power of the high carrier frequency signal received via thesecond antenna; determining a second path loss between the secondantenna and the source based on the second receive power and thetransmit power; and determining the second distance based on the secondpath loss, wherein the second signal properties includes the secondreceive power and the second path loss.
 15. The video game system ofclaim 14 further comprises: determining the first distance by:determining a first phase rotation of the high carrier frequency signalreceived via the first antenna; determining a first number of cycles ofthe high carrier frequency signal received via the first antenna basedon the first distance; adjust the first distance based on the firstnumber of cycles and the first phase rotation; determining the seconddistance by: determining a second phase rotation of the high carrierfrequency signal received via the second antenna; determining a secondnumber of cycles of the high carrier frequency signal received via thesecond antenna based on the second distance; adjust the second distancebased on the second number of cycles and the second phase rotation. 16.The video game system of claim 12 further comprises: the video gameplaying object further includes: a third antenna operable to receive asecond high carrier frequency signal to produce a third received highcarrier frequency signal, wherein the second high carrier frequencysignal has a different carrier frequency than the high carrier frequencysignal; a fourth antenna operable to receive the second high carrierfrequency signal to produce a fourth received high carrier frequencysignal, wherein the third and fourth antennas have a second antennaradiation relationship; the receiver module is further coupled to:determine third signal properties of the third received high carrierfrequency signal; and determine fourth signal properties of the fourthreceived high carrier frequency signal; and the video game consoledevice is further coupled to determine the position of the video gameplaying object with respect to the source based on the first, second,third, and fourth signal properties.
 17. The video game system of claim12 further comprises: the video game playing object further includes: athird antenna operable to receive the high carrier frequency signal toproduce a third received high carrier frequency signal; a fourth antennaoperable to receive the high carrier frequency signal to produce afourth received high carrier frequency signal, wherein the first,second, third, and fourth antennas have the antenna radiationrelationship; the receiver module is further coupled to: determine thirdsignal properties of the third received high carrier frequency signal;determine fourth signal properties of the fourth received high carrierfrequency signal; and the video game console device is further coupledto determine the position of the receiver device with respect to thesource based on the first through fourth signal properties.